Stature Estimation of the Medieval Skeletons from the Yuigahama-Minami Site in Kamakura, Japan

Abstract

The purposes of this study are to estimate stature of the medieval Japanese skeletons from the Yuigahama- minami site, Kamakura; to choose the most suitable stature estimation equations for the medieval population by examining six sets of equations for males and three sets of equation for females; and to trace secular trends in Japanese stature. The materials used in this study are composed of humerus, radius, femur, and tibia of 59 males and 52 females from the Yuigahama-minami site. According to the method by Kouchi, the discrepancy between the estimated statures based on each of the four different long bones was used as the criterion to de- termine the most suitable equations for the medieval skeletons. As a result, Fujii’s equations and Trotter and Gleser’s equations for Mongoloids are the most suitable equations for males, and Fujii’s equations and Saso and Hanihara’s equations are the most suitable equations for females. The estimated statures of both sexes cal- culated by the Fujii’s equations from the maximum length of femur were then compared with other populations in Japan. The comparison indicated the significant differences between the Yuigahama-minami and the popu- lations from the Yayoi and Kofun periods, and suggested the gradual decreasing trends in estimated stature from the Kofun period to the medieval period, and also to the Meiji era.